Donald Trump shooting: The five unanswered questions about assassination attempt on former president

Thomas Matthew Crooks, who was positioned just 100 feet from Donald Trump, fired at least eight shots into the crowd, leaving one audience member dead.

Since the shooting, several major questions have emerged around the security of the former president, why the gunman tried to kill Donald Trump and what this will mean for the US presidential election.

What was the motive?

Thomas Matthew Crooks was shot dead at the scene by a Secret Service sniper after he shot and injured Donald Trump.

The 20-year-old kitchen worker was not carrying ID so investigators used DNA and facial recognition technology to identify him.

Crooks was a registered Republican from Bethel Park in Pennsylvania and graduated from Bethel Park High School in 2022.

The FBI said Crooks was the "subject involved in the assassination attempt on the former president and that an active investigation was underway."

But the most pressing question on many people's minds is why? What motivated Crooks to attempt to assassinate the former president of the United States?

The FBI has not identified a motive for the shooter's actions but said in a statement they are "working to determine the sequence of events and the shooter’s movements prior to the shooting, collecting and reviewing evidence, conducting interviews, and following up on all leads".

The FBI has also determined that Crooks acted alone and said he was not known by the FBI before the incident.

Former MI6 intelligence officer Matthew Dunn said it is important to know the motive behind the shooting in case "he had any support and if he was affiliated with any organisation that essentially put him up to this".

He added: "If not least, law enforcement across the United States will want to reassure the public that this is not part of a bigger plan of thought, and people should be scared and people should lock their doors and stay home."

How did Crooks access the weapon?

An AR-15 assault-style rifle was recovered next to the body of Thomas Matthew Crooks on the roof adjacent to the rally site.

Authorities have said that Crook's father, Matthew, legally purchased the gun which has been traced to a now-defunct dealership.

On the day of the assassination, Crooks bought a box of 5.56 ammunition containing 50 rounds.

At this point, authorities do not know specifically how Crooks accessed the weapon.

Crooks was reportedly wearing a T-shirt bearing the emblem of a pro-gun YouTube channel when he carried out the assassination attempt.

Two former classmates told The New York Post that Crooks tried out for the school's rifle team but failed to make it because he was a "comically bad shot" and made inappropriate jokes about firearms.

Did the shooter have anything else planned?

Another central question from the shooting is whether Crooks had planned anything else after 'suspicious devices' were found at his home and in his car.

The FBI searched the shooter's home and vehicle to collect additional evidence following the shooting on Saturday.

Bomb-making materials were discovered at his family home after heavily armed US security agents carried out a raid at the property in Bethel Park.

Crooks' car was also found on Sunday parked near to the rally laden with explosives.

The FBI has said the devices have been "rendered safe by bomb technicians and are being evaluated at the FBI Laboratory".

Was there a lapse in security?

As the US demands answers, the Secret Service said it is working to find out "what happened, how it happened, and how we can prevent an incident like this from ever taking place again".

The rooftop Crooks managed to gain access to was little more than 130m from where Trump spoke and was a known vulnerability before the event, leading experts to ask why it had not been secured.

It has also been suggested that the line of sight from the rooftop to Trump's podium should have been blocked off before the event.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told ABC News on Monday that Crooks should not have been able to get a direct sight of Trump.

Furthermore, eyewitnesses from the event said they could "clearly" see Crooks crawling around on the roof with a rifle and alerted the police.

The suspect continued moving around for several minutes before firing shots, according to the witnesses.

The county sheriff also confirmed that Crooks was spotted by a local police officer who was unable to stop him in time.

It is unclear whether any of this information reached the agents surrounding Trump before the shots were fired.

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How will the shooting affect the election campaign?

Following the shooting, Biden's campaign and official travel plans were halted, and similarly, Vice President Kamala Harris postponed an upcoming campaign stop in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Addressing the country on Saturday night, President Joe Biden called for unity while other Democrats temporarily paused campaign advertising.

The main question now is how the incident will affect the rest of the presidential campaign in the US.

Speaking to GB News, political analyst Roger Gewolb said: "This is America, this is the Wild West, where you might as well shoot a cowpoke just as soon as argue with him. I mean, that's life over there.

"This is what happens. This is what people are fairly used to. And I don't think it's going to change the complexion of America or anything. I think it makes Donald Trump look like a hero."

Others have suggested that the shooting could calm the tenor of the race, albeit for a short while.

Alex Keena, an associate professor of political science at Virginia Commonwealth University said: "What you'd like to think is that this would cool down some of the rhetoric and the inflammatory language that has become kind of normal over the last eight years.

“I think it will all depend on what former President Trump does and how he shapes the narrative surrounding the events of the weekend.”

Stephen Farnsworth, a political science professor at the University of Mary Washington, echoed this statement.

He said: "I expect that the commitment to behave more responsibly won’t last all that long.

"There are so many people who have had such progress in politics because of their aggressive, combative discourse that it's not something that will remain off the table."